My Scholar and My Lady
by This One's For The Winter
Summary: Duke Igthorn has failed every time he has attempted conquering Dunwyn. After much thought he realizes he’s going about it wrong; now he has the perfect plan to get all he’s ever wanted. But things get sticky when he realizes he doesn’t just want Dun
1. Chapter 1

Duke Igthorn had thought up the best plans, he had the best luck when it came to randomly finding Gummi Bears, he should be king, Lady Bane should be his wife by now, but most of all he should have all the Gummi Berry Juice he could possible want...yet somehow he was still without any of those things and each day he seemed to be sinking a little deeper into the pit that was Drekmore.

Several weeks ago he had come up with a plan to surpass all his other plans. He had realized that he was going about world domination the wrong way. He was being hasty and trying to take over with too little knowledge. He decided he needed to work on fulfilling his desires one at a time and in a very particular order. He had dictated to Toadie the order in which he would complete his desires so the tiny ogre could scrawl notes.

He would take each task one at a time without regard to the others, for that is what slowed his approach to capturing Dunwyn's throne. First on his list was to find the Gummi Bears to get the precious Gummi Berry Juice that would lead to his take over of Dunwyn. Of course taking over Dunwyn wasn't a concern at this time, if he were to follow his new plan to the letter. He had pondered over how to find the Gummi Bears.

Ogres looking over Dunwyn's grounds proved to be fruitless, as did his own attempts at seeking the mythical bears that had cause him so much grief. Traps hadn't worked, in fact nothing had worked. Igthorn hadn't seen a Gummi Bear in months and he wasn't even sure they still existed. It was in the middle of the night that it came to him…a way to find the Gummi Bears.

Now he waited patiently for his answer to arrive, he had been waiting days, no weeks; and his patients were wearing thin. He paced the length of his makeshift throne room in the highest tower of Drekmore. Toadie watched thoughtfully as Duke Igthorn walked back and forth.

"Dukie, someone here," the oafish orange ogre called Zook banged the door open to the tower.

"Well, let them in," Duke Igthorn said slowly, as if caringly, but then raised his tone to a shout, "you stupid son-of-a-warthog!"

The clumsy ogre tripped over himself in his hurried rush to leave the room.

"Oh Toadwart," Igthorn rubbed his hands together devilishly, "this is going to be spectacular."

"Very spectacular oh genius one," Toadie agreed.

The door was slammed open once more and Zook reappeared followed by a purple ogre, called Gad. "Here is guest." Both ogres moved to the side and in stepped a slim and lithe cloaked figure.

A quick hand drew back the hood to reveal a lovely young woman. Her dark hair was tied back with a leather strap, and her fair complexion glowed in an unnaturally the light. She looked about the room and her brown eyes seemed intrigued.

"Where is your master woman, Scholar Doyle?" Igthorn barked.

The woman arched an eyebrow, "Duke Igthorn, I presume?"

"Yes, that's right…now answer me," Igthorn commanded.

A smile crept across the youthful woman's face, and she appeared humored, "You wrote in search of a scholar of lore."

"That's right," Igthorn's nostrils flared with irritation.

"Brother Ruben wrote back, informing you that they would send a scholar to your request."

"Yes," Igthorn was now growing quite impatient with this girl and he stalked over to her.

She raised her chin and her smile broadened mischievously, "I am Master Muiranne Doyle, scholar of all western lore."

"There must be some mistake," Igthorn said, "a girl…"

"I can assure you, I know all there is to know about all mythical creatures, for example: Brownies and Sprites, Waterbabies and Redcaps, Griffins and Gummi Bears."

"Please," instantly Igthorn's tone changed at her mention of Gummi Bears, he bowed to her, "may I take you're cloak?"

"Yes, thank you," Muiranne slipped from the brown burlap cloak to reveal a quiet lovely dress, one of a well-to-do lady. She draped the cloak over Igthorn's arm. In his bow he noticed an intricately designed cross around her neck. As he went to the pegs on the wall, where he would hang her garment he asked, "You're religious?"

Muiranne scooped up the cross and tucked it into her dress, "I spent twelve of my eighteen years in a Spanish Franciscan Monastery, simply saying I am religious is mild."

"But you're a-"

"Female," Muiranne nodded, "I wasn't a monk," she chuckled. "I was being educated. Few schools will allow female students, as I'm sure you know. Monasteries are the few places that are gender neutral; and even then it is difficult to find them." She placed her hands behind her back and walked about the 'throne room' surveying its contents.

"Tell me what you know about the Gummi Bears?" Igthorn didn't wait, he dove right in with all his intensity to get on track for his new taking over the world scheme.

Muiranne didn't pause, she continued to walk about the room and look over the few works of art in the nearly bare room. "What would you like to know?"

"How can I find them?"

"Presuming you have any existing Gummi Bears in this area they would have to have surviving Gummi Berry bushes. That is how you will find them."

"We've checked the bushes already," Igthorn dropped into his throne.

"Well they certainly won't be out in the open when humans are around," Muiranne finally looked over her shoulder at Igthorn, slightly annoyed, as if he were being foolish – and silently she hoped he wasn't serious about finding Gummies in the broad daylight by trouncing around their fruit plants. "Within any one hundred yard radius of the center of a Gummi Berry patch you will find the abode of Gummi Bears using that particular patch, give or take a few yards."

"Really?" Igthorn looked at her intrigued.

"Yes really," Muiranne turned to him.

"How do you know so much?" Igthorn asked skeptically.

"There are one thousand seven hundred forty nine illuminated manuscripts in the Franciscan Monastery where I studied, I read one thousand six hundred eight of those manuscripts and helped scribe a large portion of them. Only monks can illuminate the manuscripts but anyone can work in the scribery, and that is where I received my first education on texts and reading. If you'd like a list of my educational references each of the brothers wrote me a reference, I've chosen a select few. They are in my bag."

"That won't be necessary," Igthorn waved a hand but leaned over closer to her; he liked this girl, and he hoped he could keep her around long enough to help him find and capture a Gummi Bear; and if that meant allowing her to stay and keep her happy he'd do it.

"Have you ever seen one Lady Doyle?" Igthorn asked.

"A Gummi Bear?" Muiranne asked.

Igthorn nodded.

"No." She said dryly.

"Do you believe in them my lady?"

Muiranne turned to him, "You may call me Muiranne, please." She was proper as any lady should be, with the way she spoke, walked and acted, but it was obvious that she thought of herself as an educated scholar not a lady of the court. "Many of our legends are based in fact, beyond that I have no explanation."


	2. Chapter 2

"Come, I'll take you to the Gummi Berry Bushes." Igthorn leapt from his throne and scooped up her hand. With her tiny hand in his he made to bolt for the door. Muiranne pulled back.

"Release me," she said. "I will gladly go with you," she pointed to the window, "tomorrow. Night is falling, we will accomplish nothing in the dark and I will need rest to best work in the field."

"But of course, may I show you to your room?" He would do anything at this point to please the girl, if he could get her to stay…even if it meant being on his best behavior.

"You may," Muiranne nodded.

…

Muiranne dropped her hood back as she looked over the area Duke Igthorn had led her to. She sighed heavily.

"What's wrong?" Igthorn asked.

"You're Gummi Berry Bushes," Muiranne said looking over them casually.

"What about them?" Igthorn looked where she looked, thinking there was something wrong with the actual quality of the bushes.

"They're wild," Muiranne said with another heavy sigh, "the rules are different for wild berries. You may have no Gummi Bears at all."

"But there are Gummi Bears." Igthorn said quickly.

Muiranne plucked a leaf off the nearest bush, "Perhaps."

"So you do believe," Igthorn looked at her triumphantly.

"I never said such a thing," Muiranne looked closely at the leaf. "It's evident that something likes these berries. There are patches of missing berries, see," Muiranne pointed at several areas were there had been berries but now were gone. "Why are you interested in Gummi Bears Duke?"

Igthorn stuttered, "Well…I…er-"

Muiranne looked over her shoulder at him and casually added, "You know, the juice of Gummies makes humans impossibly strong, as where it makes the bears themselves bounce."

"How do you know that?"

Muiranne cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yes, the manuscripts." A smile developed across Igthorn's face, for he knew no one who knew of the Gummi Berry Juice super strength; he thought perhaps there was more in these manuscripts that could tell him about the Gummi Bears. "Can I see these manuscripts?"

"Of course not," Muiranne said, "unless you are a student or a person looking to buy one, and even then you have to request it and it could take years for the monks to scribe it."

"Oh," Igthorn's shoulders slumped over.

"Now," Muiranne said pointing to several areas, "those are the furthest lying bushes. You see Gummies generally tend their bushes, they grow them with intention; that is how you can judge where a Gummi resides by his bushes…but these, these have no intent. They are very wild, not cultivated, not pruned, nothing. But they are picked, you may have Gummi Bears yet. But it's much more difficult to find their living quarters by wild berries. It could describe many things about those particular bears, they could be very few without enough time to tend their bushes, or they could be wild bears themselves, it could signify any number of things. But," she raised a finger, "under no circumstances would the bears live further than five hundred yards from any Gummi Berry Bush. We have to figure from the furthest bushes a circle with the radius of five hundred yards. Do you have a map?"

Igthorn turned to Toadie, who handed the Duke a paper scroll. In turn Igthorn handed Muiranne the map. She laid the map on the ground and with a quill she collected from her bag she put a dot on the map where they stood. She then outlined the Gummi Berry Bushes, "See. Figure from here," she pointed to where she was kneeling on the ground, "the furthest bush form me, where I stand in the center, is about," she looked at her surroundings, "twenty yards. So," she looked back at the map and drew a straight line out from her current spot, "That means the radius actually has to be five hundred and twenty yards," then she drew a circle on the map starting at the five hundred yard straight line she's just finished with. She pointed at the area inside the circle she's just drawn, "They should exist, hypothetically, within this circle."

"Start looking!" Igthorn barked, and with that the ogres stumbled around one another trying to look for Gummi Bears.

"Wait," Muiranne called, but her small voice couldn't carry over the noise of the ogres thinking they'd find Gummi Bears.

"What is it my dear?" Igthorn said.

"You can't just look for them, what would you want them for?" Muiranne put her hands on her hips; Muiranne made a point not to tell him that she hadn't finished explaining the key points in finding their residence, she'd only told them a location; and a huge area at that.

"You said it yourself Scholar Doyle, Gummi Berry Juice super strength." Then Igthorn threw his head back with a mighty and devilish laugh.

Muiranne stumbled backward, "You can't be serious."

"Oh but I am, and you're going to help me."

Muiranne turned and dashed for the road.

Igthorn called after his ogres, "Catch her you numbskulls!"

The ogres' feet thundered after Muiranne who was running but stood no real chance of escaping.


	3. Chapter 3

**My Scholar and My Lady**  
_By: Sabella Sykes_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The door snapped open and promptly shut in a flustered mess of annoyance and impatience. Cavin looked up from the armor he was shining, his mouth drawn out in a long 'O' as princess Calla stomped her foot and folded her arms over her chest in aggravation.

"What's the matter princess?" Cavin asked setting the rag aside and precariously balancing the chest plate up against a nearby crate. He got to his feet and dusted his hands together moving closer to Calla. The fact was, next to Cubbi, Calla was his best friend. She meant a good deal to him and even if their relationship was inappropriate – enough that they didn't advertise how close they actually were – neither paid much attention to courtly etiquette when it came to each other. There was also the fact that they shared the secret of the living, breathing Gummi bears that tied them so closely together.

"Oooo," she grumbled, thrusting her fists down by her side as she stomped her foot again. "Cavin, it's the nitwit Umwyn; he follows my every move since father's decree after the last time that tyrant Igrthorn manages capturing me – which, if you remember was not entirely my fault." She made a face an mimicked her father's deep voice poorly, "A princess has to set a good example for her people. I'm tired of setting any example at all. It's like I'm not even my own person Cavin, I'm just some status symbol to this whole kingdom."

She fell back into one of the overstuffed chairs in the knight's conference room. One leg flopped over the other. She felt positively comfortable around Cavin, able to be herself through and through. This allowed her moments of unlady-like and anti-noble attitudes. Something she was thankful for. Calla was a princess, she loved her father – her throne and her kingdom, it was simply daunting on her young spirit. She knew some day she'd be chained to it, another fact she took willingly – but in the meantime she wanted to live a little, after all it would be her last chance.

"And my father sent for another tutor."

Cavin refrained from his initial reaction which was smacking his forehead and drawing his hand down his cheek. Calla was hard on tutors and went through them like fish through water. She was always testing her limit and Cavin hadn't seen one who didn't end up walking out on the idea of teaching in a huff or was dismissed in annoyance by Calla herself. "Not again Calla." Cavin said as his shoulders slumped. "I thought you liked the last one."

"Cavin! You're supposed to be on my side." She said scrambling to her feet again.

"Oh, I am." He quickly added sheepishly, holding his hands up defensively.

"They haven't arrived yet though." Calla ducked back into the chair, folding her arms over her chest once more. "A scholar this time, not just some lady of the court who wants to talk manners haughtily because she gets to be part of the court and not some old half-senseless scientist who's more mad than his experiments. I hope, as much as you and father do, that I like this one. Doyle, Scholar Doyle. Father wrote a monastery for one of their graduates and they were supposed to send on who should arrive today." She ran a delicate hand along her forehead before shooting a grin up at Cavin – a dangerous challenging prospect obviously playing in her eyes.

She jumped to her feet again and grabbed his hand. "Come on!" She squealed. "Forget all this serious stuff – lets go see the Gummies. It's a royal command."

"But…" was all Cavin managed getting out before she had pulled him trough the trap door in the floor. He was still lingering and pointing back at the armor before he vanished with her.

* * *

"What's that?" Cubbi paused in his attempt at catching Sunni, who was running playfully from the younger bear. Sunni stopped too as the ground shook around them. 

"I don't know Cubbi," Sunni said.

"Would you two kids stop running around here like a heard of elephants," Gruffi poked his head out of his work room.

"It isn't us," Sunni said.

"Let's see what it is," Cubbi ran to a tiny room down the hall that had a scope that allowed a glimpse of the outside world. Quickly Cubbi chucked his wooden sword aside and hopped up onto the little stool and put his eye to the scope. Before he could get a view of anything he was lifted from the chair. "Hey whatcha doin'?" Cubbi wiggled to get back to the scope.

"This is the job for a grown-up," Gruffi said setting Cubbi on the floor.

"No fair," Cubbi sighed as Gruffi put his eye to the scope.

"Ogres," Gruffi said, as he saw all the ogres running crazily around making all kind of noise and continuing to shake that particular wing of the Glen. "In the Gummi Berry patch."

"We've been looking everywhere for you." Calla's voice called as she slipped into the room which housed the scope that looked out into the forest. "Oh my! What's that noise?" She cooed, placing a hand to her chest.

"Ogres!" Cubbi had taken the spot Gruffi vacated and was looking out over the forest while waving his sword over his head. "Oh wait! There's a girl!"

"Move! I want to see – it's my turn." Sunni said after greeting her human friends. She gave Cubbi a little nudge out of the way and stuck her own eye to the peep hole while Cavin pushed a trapdoor that looked like a little patch of forest floor up to get a glimpse of his own. Calla, grabbed to Cavin's arm pulling herself up to look next to him.

Muiranne's feet beat lightly on the ground as she slipped behind a tree hoping to escape her captors pursuit. But just as she moved behind it one of the large green ogres uprooted the entire tree. She cringed at being out in the open again. In an instant she lunged forward stomping on Zook's foot. He pulled it up in pain and she ducked under him slipping out of his immediate grasp further enhanced by his clutching tightly to his toes.

However, in her haste she didn't noticed Igthron just on the other side of the large oafish ogre and threw herself directly into his chest. The wind was knocked from her coupled with her surprise and her dash to escape she found herself breathless. She was already turning to dart away again as Igthorn's strong hand grasped her wrist tightly and jerked her back. With little effort he hoisted her off her feet. "Now, now," he said intentionally sickly sweet, "where are you running to my dear, our work isn't done."

She gritted her teeth and sneered at him. Muiranne's blood was pumping hard in her fear and attempted escape. There was a fear running heavily in her veins as well as horror. But she wouldn't let it be seen by Igthorn as she kept her head high and refused to back down. Never in her life had she ever wished she'd taken some up some sort of proficiency in combat, but in that moment she did. "My work is done." She told him defiantly, raising her chin and doing her best to remain calm as she spoke; however she could feel her voice shaking. "Had I any idea how positively insane you are I wouldn't have come at all."

"Such brave words, I have ways of making you stay and remain on my mission. I just hoped I wouldn't have to use them. I'll ask once, stay and help?"

"Never." She snapped, a single eyebrow shooting up on her forehead. It wasn't bad enough that he believed in the mythological bear – he was aggressive and harshly rough not to mention uncivilized. Muiranne figured she should have noticed this from his 'castle' but she had been foolish to assume he was a minimalist. Anyone who would trap people against their will for no crime was dangerous.

"Pity." She snarled in return. "I'd hate to damage you, but you leave me no choice. Gad – Zook! Prepare the dungeons. As for you," he pulled her up and slung her over his shoulder, "you'll be begging to help me in a matter of days – if not hours."

Muiranne refused to scream, she wouldn't sink to his level and instiage him – allowing him the pleasure of assuming he'd won.

"What would Igthorn want with a girl like that?" Cavin asked a little shocked by what he'd just witnessed.

"Who cares – we have to help her!" Calla said, letting the hatch fall shut as she slipped back into the underground room.

"Calla's right Gruffi," Sunni nodded. "If it's Igthron, he's up to no good. We can be sure of that."

Gruffi was already scowling, mostly because he knew they were right. "Oh, alright!" He grumbled. "But I'm warning you all now that this is a bad idea." He said it, because he firugred it needed to be said – even if in Gruffi's heart he agreed with them. "Lets go get the others."


End file.
